This invention describes a novel method of providing information to aircraft crew members and flight control personnel during emergency flight situations (EFS) also herein referred to as in-flight emergencies (IFE). The invention is based on the task of providing intelligence support for the aircraft crew for diagnosis and checking workability and functionality of aircraft and systems and subsystems automatically, if emergency flight situations appear; providing visual perception of necessary informational support of the crew for eliminating such EFS or IFE.
An analysis of causes of flight accidents demonstrates that flight safety is much influenced by the quality of information being given to aircraft crews. This problem comes out especially timely as the "glass" cockpit becomes more widely implemented because an effort to squeeze vast amounts of information into a limited surface area of electronic indicators instigates a serious problem of difficulty of perception and is accompanied by insufficient scope of research work in the approaches to encoding of this information.
To solve it, the invention uses a fragmentary-pictographic method of information presentation as a principle of designing the interface of the aircraft intelligence support system. Such fragmentary-pictographic interfacing is an essentially more adequate instrument considering its correspondence to inner (psychological) toolset of mental activity as a whole and of the operator in particular.
In accordance with the invention, this information support is illustrated for each crew member with appropriate prompts in time and form that allow each to understand the intelligence and use it, and in shortest format. Also, it controls operations of each crew member and immediately warns them of mistakes (by "feedback"). This method includes measuring and processing of flight information, for presentation on screens in "videocard" form, divided on four information fields (IF).
For example, a left IF introduces the information about the type of EFS or IFE. A right upper IF may point out which of the crew members must operate. A central upper IF mav indicate necessary conditions to eliminate EFS. All such information is introduced in a system of pictogram signs and connected elements-functional lines such as "to do", "to check", "to wait" as later more particularly described in connection with later-described FIG. 4.
This invention is thus a part of an intelligence support system (ISS) of work of complete human-machine-space system operators. It regulates the activity of aircraft crew members and airfield flight or air traffic control leaders and their interfacing. In addition to providing information for treating with emergency flight situations, the invention also may be used in other areas of human activity where complex operation and technologies are involved.
Underlying the invention is an expert system of pictograms to help the pilot of, for example, a helicopter or other craft to accomplish safety flight regimes by checking weight, balance, torque moment during flying with the cargo on the external suspension and inside the fuselage of the helicopter.
Previously known methods have been based on the measuring of flight information, calculation, and showing on the pilot's screen of information about needing engine thrust (power) in different flight conditions according to flight weight and inside cargo, stored into random access memory (RAM) of an onboard computer, and information about ambient temperature and fuel quantity which are also inputted to the computer by the pilot.
By command of the pilot, such systems show on the screen information about fuel quantity, flight altitude, condition of anti-ice system and cargo weight on each of 3 external suspensions. Also the information about flight weight, center of gravity, reserve quantity of fuel, engine type, etc., is inputted manually into random access memory of the computer and may be recovered by the pilot if such is necessary.
The main drawbacks of such prior methods are:
many operations must be done with the control unit of the computer through introducing necessary information by the pilot, such being unacceptable during the flight with EFS; PA1 non-optimal method of introducing information to crew in letter and digit form, requiring too much time for proper understanding; PA1 no options for an expert system to control correct operations of the pilot. PA1 a lot of manipulation on the control panel is required to obtain the desired pilot (navigator) information; PA1 the crew is merely informed about the situation; the optimum decisions are not pointed out, and there is no warning of errors (deviations). PA1 large number of manipulations with the control panel is required to get necessary information, which is totally unacceptable while operating in complicated flight conditions; PA1 insufficiently optimal from the viewpoint of perception and comprehension of the information the alpha-numerical mode of its presentation; PA1 the impossibility on the part of the advisory system to supervise the accuracy of the pilot's actions. PA1 a large number of manipulations with expert systems controls required to get needed information, which is unacceptable in the conditions of rapid development of IFE; PA1 not optimal from the viewpoint of perception and comprehension of the information presentation--text and/or alphanumerical; PA1 a lack of supervision by the advisory system over the correctness of the aircrew actions; PA1 an impossibility of the expert systems operatively to process AC systems gauges signals and to bring forth the appropriate prompts on the crew actions in various-in-flight situations (the order, essence and required actions directions). PA1 a notable duration (far exceeding the allowed one) of the air crew searching out the required information; PA1 a lack of the supervision by the advisory system over the correctness of the aircrew actions; PA1 not optimal mode of information presentation, which delays its perception and understanding, and does not secure aircrew performance exactitude.
In order more clearly to appreciate the scope of the advance of the invention, it is believed useful more fully to review prior and current aircraft operation techniques.
Piloting of modern aircraft equipped with utmost complex command, indication and control systems, places the aircrew in extremely tough situations of intellectual and psychic activity; this activity often inflicting supreme strain on the crew members. The implementation of wide variety of AC control automatization means, the appearance of computerized trajectory indication systems, systems of hydraulic and electrical remote control of individual AC units (landing gear, high-lift devices) have turned the aircrews from mere amplification elements into high-class high-intellect experts, who are to make complicated qualified decisions in every flight; and this being in a dire lack of time, especially noticeable during in-flight emergency.
There exist various emergency-warning systems on-board modern aircraft. These inform the crew about originating IFE in different ways: by sound or light signals, lighted panels with inscriptions or voice information about the substance of the IFE. Light signals and panels are differentiated by color coding depending on their operativeness and message direction. The main shortcomings of these techniques consist in that they either just draw attention and notify the crew about the IFE arising (not disclosing its nature or pinpointing it, etc.), or present this intelligence by correspondent voice reports or panel inscriptions. In some instances, these systems tell the crew about single actions required in a form of report: "Close the canopy", "Reduce the throttles", etc. Still, in no case, do they give advice on how to parry the IFE, or inform about order and essence of actions needed to cope with an IFE, or how to exercise distribution of duties amongst crew members, or supervise their performances. This results in low efficiency of existing information systems.
Today, the principal instrument of prompting "walk away" from emergency actions to the crew consists of polygraphic editions--Flight Manuals (FM), with which every AC is to be equipped.
Missions to be performed are further complicated by the heavy flow of visual information, which comes to aircrew members through flight and navigation instruments and AC systems. This powerful flow of eternally changing visual information during complex flight stages (for example, take-off, final approach, missed approach) rules out in 60-70% of cases the possibility to find quickly the recommendations on IFE parry actions with the help of existing AC crew advisory systems. Furthermore, the search for the required section (page) in the FM takes long enough time to become unacceptable in transient IFE. Reading the text from the often bulky FM is rather laborious, and an inefficient job at best during the IFE, and often leads to erroneous actions.
Some aircraft manufacturers, such as O.K. Antonov or S. V. Ilyushin Aircraft Works, attempt to resolve this problem by duplicating those sections of the FM that contain the most vital information (section "In-Flight Emergency Situations") and reprinting them as separate polygraphic editions (booklet, a set of cards, etc.) supplied with fast search devices (like indexed outside page margins) with but little improvement. Besides, this appends extra kilograms to already heavyweight collections of operating and maintenance instructions permanently on board the AC (An-124 "Ruslan" carries approximately 500 kilos of such material).
Thanks to fast progress in electronics and avionics, new possibilities of generating more efficient airborne information systems (intellectual support or expert systems for AC crew) have arisen.
In Stokes Alan F., Wickens Christopher D. Chapter 12 "Aviation Displays" in a book "Human Factors in Aviation" Ed. Wiener E., Nagel D.C. New York, 1988, pp. 413-421; the results of ergonomic research in aviation are presented. These show that pictographic systems of indication display have manifest superiority over the other ones, because pictorial or mnemonic presentation offers an integrated portrayal of commanded object standing and the relationship between its components.
In U. S. Pat. No. 4,796,190, as an example, a navigation system aircraft pictographic prompter is described. The system includes a microprocessor and memory therefor, and a compact laser disc comprising the memory. Upon pilot or navigator command, the system displays on a screen the navigation charts of main or reserve arrival airfields along distance estimates with the most characteristic details of geographic area, locator beacons positions, and environmental checkpoints, AC-to-runway present perfect projected paths in azimuth and elevation indications are provided as in the actual AC position relative to the landing maneuver trajectory.
The access to this information is obtained by entering, with the help of an alpha-numerical keyboard, of the full designation of the airport or by a request to find out present AC position. The AC coordinates are displayed as a point leaving a luminescent trace on the screen, representing the flight path. The primary shortcomings of such a system, however, are as follows:
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,838, as another example, there is disclosed a helicopter weight and torque advisory system. The system consists of two electronic components: a control panel with a processor unit and a remote display unit. Electrical power is fed into the control panel and processor unit along with signals from the outside air temperature, pressure altitude, fuel flow and anti-ice systems and load sensors on the external sling load hooks. The advisory system is able to compute and display on the pilot's command the available versus required engine torque at selected destination points based on the helicopter operating weight and internal payload in the processor memory, the actual external cargo load lifted, and manually input projected altitude, temperature and remaining fuel at destination. Upon command, the system will display "real time" fuel remaining, fuel flow rate, altitude, temperature, the status of the anti-ice system and the actual load on each cargo hook. In addition, manually input and maintained data such as operating weight, operating weight center of gravity, reserve fuel level and types of engines in the processor's memory are available for quick display.
The control panel portion of the control panel and processor unit consists of an OFF/ON switch, three mode switches, i.e., internal cargo load (INTL), sling load (SLING), and engine torque at destination (DEST). Also it contains a recall key (RCL), a test key (TEST) and a calibration key (CALB). Further, it includes three data keys, CHANGE, SCROLL and ENTER, and remote display brightness control knob.
The remote display unit interfaces only with the control panel and processor unit. Its display consists of three lines with each line capable of displaying four alpha-numeric characters.
The major weaknesses of such systems, however, are as follows:
Thus, an analysis of existing techniques shows, that while today there are ways and means to improve the IFE crew activities, such possess a number of disadvantages that decrease the efficiency of their employment:
1. For aircrew information instruments these drawbacks are:
2. For--polygraphic editions (handbooks, Flight Manuals, etc.) they are: